Simchat Shabbat, Friday, 6:15 p.m.

Early Shacharit, followed by Torah study, Sat. 8:30 a.m.

Late Shacharit, Saturday, 10:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.
 
Shabbat Yeladim (Tot Shabbat) - 1st  Saturday of each month, 9:30 a.m.

Shabbat Mishpacha (Family Shabbat) - 3rd Saturday of each month, 9:00 a.m.   

Ever wondered how you might become more mindful and self-aware? Do you sometimes feel you could better direct your reactions and impulses? Do you seek stronger, healthier relationships with others in your life, work and community?

Join us for our very first Mussar cohort beginning this January. Mussar is a centuries-old Jewish tradition that can help you develop inner awareness, and bring about transformation of the traits of the soul, in order to become the finest version of the person you already are.  Through journaling, meditation, and personal reflection, we will delve into Mussar using methods drawn from the Mussar Institute and Everyday Holiness by Alan Morinis.

Taught by Rabbi Jennifer Gubitz.

Course cost: $54 TST members/$108 non-TST members and includes a copy of Everyday Holiness, online materials and resources.

To apply, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/TSTMussarCohort1 

Classes meet at Shir Tikva on  January 15, 29, February 12, 26, March 12, 26 April 9, 23, May 7

Sunday, January 25, 2015, 2:30 p.m., Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA

Please join us for an interesting afternoon at the Danforth. A private tour has been arranged to teach us about the life and works of artist Hyman Bloom, who emigrated to the U.S. with his family from Latvia in 1920 and spent most of his life living in Boston. His art was heavily influenced by his orthodox Jewish upbringing, as well as by many other artists of the time.

The one-hour tour will begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by light refreshments.

The cost is $15 per person and reservations are required by January 20.

Register here. 

For more information, contact:

Beth Volk (missbeth47@aol.com) or Joan Lappin (jglappin@yahoo.com)

Monday, January 26, 7:30 p.m.  

Reading Group To Focus on Jewish Writers' International Experience

Discussion will be led by Daniele Bick, M.D., psychiatrist  

From the unique, contemporary and odd, perspective Etgar Keret brings to his writing, to a more serious study of Nazism and the aftereffects that Moacyr Scliar explores in Max and the Cats, the hope is to illuminate and explore what other cultures bring to the experience of being a Jew and to Judaism in general.   

Max and the Cats, a tale of a man who survived the terror of the Holocaust, only to be drawn into his own form of paranoia, even delusion, at the end is a perfect starting point: it's a microcosm of what damage such horrors can inflict on a child, while also pertaining to the Jewish experience. It explores anti-semitism, but also asks larger issues such as how evil can linger long after one has left that evil behind physically. 

This was also the basis for Life of Pi, or at least a review of the book gave Yann Martel the idea for his book. It has  had a ripple effect, although more people are aware of Life of Pi than Max and the Cats: Scliar didn't write in English, and his book may not have seemed as accessible as Life of Pi. However, it does both book and author disservice to gloss over the importance of Max and the Cats.   

Scliar was well respected in his country of origin, however, and the language barrier may have been only one of the stepping stones that kept him from wider recognition. He, and many of his brethren, are waiting to be discovered. A reading group dedicated to the foreign experience of the Jewish community could be one way to bring our congregation together in experiencing how Jews live life in different countries.

Save the Date!

Comedy Night - Saturday, January 31, 2015

Join us for a great night of community and laughs!  The night will include great headliner comedians and our traditional

Thursday, January 29- 7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Join us for our next Sisterhood book club! We are reading A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn.

Software prodigy Josie Ashkenazi has invented an application that records everything its users do. When an Egyptian library invites her to visit as a consultant, her jealous sister Judith persuades her to go. A century earlier, another traveler arrives in Egypt: Solomon Schechter, a Cambridge professor hunting for a medieval archive hidden in a Cairo synagogue. Both he and Josie are haunted by the work of the medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides.  An engrossing adventure that intertwines stories from Genesis, medieval philosophy, and the digital frontier, A Guide for the Perplexed is a novel of profound inner meaning and astonishing imagination.

Join us for wine, dessert and a lively discussion, whether you finish the book or not. 

• Lisa Schreiber,  on the death of her father, David Botvin
• Joan Friedman,  on the death of her father, Arthur Friedman
• Herman Blumberg,  on the death of his sister, Jeanette Bear
• Max Rosen, on the death of his mother, Barbara Rosen
• Mindy Milberg, on the death of her father, Albert Milberg

Sunday, January 11, 2 - 4 p.m.

Leventhal-Sidman JCC, 333 Nahanton Street, Newton 

Come to and Open House for JCC Grossman Camp!

Meet the camp director and staff and learn how JCC Grossman Camp is a place to be active, a place to make friends and a place for building skills and community. Varied activities give campers ages 4.5 to 15 years old a sense of the world around them-and supportive, experienced staff encourage exploration and growth in this vibrant Jewish camping environment.

Located on 75 acres of the Hale Reservation in Westwood. Bus transportation available from more than 40 communities throughout Greater Boston. Extended day available in Newton (at the Leventhal-Sidman JCC). Financial assistance is available.

No charge for open house. Everyone welcome. A program of the Ryna Greenbaum JCC Center for the Arts. For more information, visit bostonjcc.org/grossman or call 617-244-5124.

Thursday, January 15, 12 - 1:30 p.m., Temple Shir Tikva, Wayland

Natural Solutions for Common Illnesses

Presented by Gary Kracoff, NMD, Registered Pharmacist

Explore natural and homeopathic solutions for common ailments, such as colds, flu, arthritis, heartburn, constipation and more!

Kosher lunch is $3 in advance or $5 at the door

Click here to register or call JFS: 508-875-3100 x330

Ivy + Bean, The Musical!

Monday, January 19, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Leventhal-Sidman JCC, Newton, MA

Enjoy a presentation of Ivy + Bean, The Musical! based on New York Times best-selling children's books series by author Annie Barrows and illustrator Sophie Blackhall. The popular series explores the unexpected friendship between two very different second graders-the wild and goofy Bean and the quiet, contemplative Ivy.

Geared for families with children ages 5+ years. Cost is $13, JCC member cost is $11. Show is part of the JCC Magic Ark Performing Arts Series for Families, a program of the Ryna Greenbaum JCC Center for the Arts. For tickets, visit bostonjcc.org/magicark or call 617-965-5226 or 866-811-4111.

Toying with Science

Monday, February 16, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Leventhal-Sidman JCC, Newton, MA

Discover the fascinating and fun world of science! This action packed show is filled with circus skills, mime, comedy, original music, and plenty of audience participation.

Geared for families with children ages 2+ years. Cost is $13, JCC member cost is $11. Show is part of the JCC Magic Ark Performing Arts Series for Families, a program of the Ryna Greenbaum JCC Center for the Arts. For tickets, visit bostonjcc.org/magicark or call 617-965-5226 or 866-811-4111.